Gravel Grinder News: Garmin Unveils New “Rally”Powermeter Pedals.

Gravel Grinder News: Garmin Unveils New “Rally”Powermeter Pedals. – by Guitar Ted with MG

The news of a new power measuring pedal product from Garmin is out now and our own MG attended the ‘virtual’ press release event. Following are the details and comments on this new pedal system for power measurement from Garmin called “Rally”.

What It Is: Garmin had long been rumored to be bringing a pedal system to market that would have power measuring capabilities. Training by power output of the rider has been an important step forward in training for cycling for years, but the systems used to measure rider output have often been difficult to impossible to swap from bike to bike and were often times proprietary to a certain component, like crank arms, which were not very versatile in terms of use across different types of bicycles for different types of cycling.

Using a pedal to house the power measuring system then makes a bit more sense as pedal/crank arm interface is standardized and most cyclists seeking to train by power use a ‘clipless’ style pedal system. Garmin’s new Rally range not only offers three types of clipless pedals which should cover most of the market, but they offer the option to swap pedal bodies onto their spindle within the Rally range. Furthermore, you can buy in at the one-sided power measuring level or go to the range topping two-sided power measuring level where both pedals are giving readouts. You can also upgrade the single sided pedal model to be a two sided readout by purchasing an upgrade at anytime.

Here’s the rundown on the range from the press release. Model numbers with “1” are single sided, “single-sensing” pedals and model numbers with a “2” are the dual-sensing models:

The Rally power meters are available in single-and dual-sensing pedal options:

•Rally RS100and Rally RS200, designed for road cyclists,introduce compatibility with SHIMANO SPD-SL cleats

•Rally XC100and Rally XC200, designed for off-road cyclists,introduce compatibilitywith SHIMANO SPD cleats

•Rally RK100and Rally RK200, designed for road cyclists,maintain compatibility with LOOK KEO cleats

“Designed with sensors housed in the pedals, the Rally power meters deliver reliable, accurate data on every training session. With the Rally RK200, Rally RS200and Rally XC200dual-sensing pedal-based power meters, cyclists can see right and left leg data metrics independently. Measuring cadence, total power, left-right balance and advanced cycling dynamics, the dual-sensing pedals show cyclists how and where they are producing power to help them understand their specific strengths and weaknesses to improve their pedaling form. The dual-sensing pedals also track time spent seated versus standing so riders can gauge position effectiveness and where power is applied on the pedal to ensure proper cleat position.“

Rally pedals run on batteries which have a claimed run time of 120 hours. Riders can gain data generated by the Rally pedals via compatible Garmin Edge computers and the Garmin Connect App, or they can use the app on a Garmin compatible smartphone with “popular indoor training platforms, including the Tacx Trainingapp, Zwift, TrainerRoad and more.”

Pricing on the pedals is $1,099.99 to $1,199.99, for the dual sensing models, and $649.99 to $699.99 for the single-sensing models. Upgrade pedals to get dual-sensing capabilities cost $549.99 to $599.99. All are available now, according to the press release.

Comments: Power meter products have not typically been known to be inexpensive and the Garmin Rally pedals are no different in that vein. Considering that you may need a compatible computer, that makes these even more of an expense. So, the Rally pedals are a heady investment. That said, MG felt that they seem to be well thought out and look well made. Only time will tell on durability, of course, but this product seems up to the task.

Dual-sided power with the features that Garmin has built in will be quite an attractive thing for those cyclists who are seeking to gain every advantage. That you can easily move these from bike to bike makes power measuring a snap on almost any bike now, and that’s a big deal here. Having that option lessens the blow to your finances a bit if you train on various types of bicycles.

For more details on the Garmin Rally range of power meter pedals, see their webpage here: https://explore.garmin.com/en-US/cycling/#rally-xc200

Note: Information and images provided by Garmin for this article. Thanks to Garmin for the invitation to the press event.